Nov 212013
 

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine stock market further retreated below the 6,200-level today over concerns that the United States might soon taper its economic stimulus.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.53 percent or 32.45 points to 6,122.89, while the broader all-share index fell by 0.70 percent or 26.50 points to 3,737.18.

Trading volume reached 853.18 million shares worth P8.54 billion ($196.06 million) with 123 stocks declining, 34 advancing and 41 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the industrial and the holding firm sectors bucked the trend.

“Weakness continue to prevail, following indications of tapering plans in the US,” brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment.  

Investors are worried that the US Federal Reserves might soon go slow on its $85-billion a month asset purchase program following signs of recovery in the labor market.

Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

This caused major currencies to slide and the Dow Jones to close Wednesday’s session 66.21 points lower.

2TradeAsia.com advises investors to spot for good trading windows in second-tier shares that have breached “oversold zones.”

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. Among those sold out were Ayala Land, Inc., Alliance Global Group, Inc. and heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.   
 

Nov 182013
 
Bourse slides on profit-taking

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Lacking incentive to entice more investors to place their money in the stock market, the local equities closed today’s session in the negative. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.05 percent or 3.15 points to 6,343.25, while the broader all-share index retreated by 0.11 percent or 4.14 points to 3,864.86. Trading volume reached 539 million shares worth P6.52 billion ($149.76 million) with 74 stocks declining, 61 advancing and 50 were unchanged. Of the six counters, only the holding firm sector bucked the trend. “Although buyers have surfaced in time to stave off a drop below 6,200 last week, lifting the equities remains heavy as rallies are soon enough capped by profit-taking,” analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said. The analyst said not even the positive outcome of trading sessions in neighboring Asian countries and China’s decision to implement broad-based reforms could prevent profit-taking among investors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Local shares joined the cheer but continued to meet stiff resistance from sellers, capping the advance and even threatening to send the measure back in the red. Deep into the afternoon session, the bulls finally caved in to the pressure, allowing the bears to take the day,” Calaycay said. The composite index in fact went up to as high as 6,386.62 or 40 points higher from Friday’s close before profit takers dominated the session. The bellwether touched an intra-day low of 6,324.24 on Monday. In the meantime, Calaycay said Read More …

Jul 232013
 
Foreign-backed investors eye IRC lot in Rizal

MANILA, Philippines – Publicly-listed IRC Properties said a foreign-backed investor group has signified interest to acquire one of its lots in Binangonan, Rizal. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Interport said the purchase of the 22-hectare land will provide  IRC with  fresh funds to continue building road/bridge infrastructures within its vast property. Plans for the property include a residential development to complement a planned garden community (residential cum retail promenade with upscale shops and restaurants).  “The move is an integral part of the company’s thrust towards township development.  Moreover, it is in line with the renewed interest of various local and foreign conglomerates in the area just east of Metro Manila,” Interport said. Last year, the company inked an agreement with Dell Equipment and Construction Corp. to jointly develop a residential subdivision in Binangonan, Rizal.     The proposed project, dubbed Fiesta Casitas, sits on a 872-hectare property owned by Interport. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The project will form part of Sunshine Fiesta, the company’s socialized housing project involving some 4,290 units. Ayala Land was earlier rumored to have set its sights on the IRC’s property in line with its strategy to build townships similar to its flagship project, Nuvali in Canlubang, Laguna. IRC incurred a net loss of P2.2 million in the first quarter and accumulated losses amounting to P88 million as of March this year. The company’s main objective is to ensure it has adequate working capital moving forward to pursue Read More …

Jul 192013
 
Ayala Land starts P15-B bond offer

MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has started tapping the bond market, marking its largest fundraising in the capital market thus far. In a disclosure, ALI said it kicked off yesterday the public offer of P15 billion worth of bonds due 2024. “It is ALI’s largest debt issue for a single tenor to date,” the company said, adding that the bonds carry a coupon rate of five percent. The public offering will run until July 25, which will be followed by the issues listing on July 30. “The issue size is inclusive of an additional P5 billion oversubscription due to strong investor demand,” ALI said. “Proceeds of the offering will be utilized to partially finance the company’s capital expenditure program for the year in support of its aggressive growth plans,” it added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last week, the property firm secured the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for the issuance of as much as P21 billion worth of bonds in different tranches. In June, ALI’s board approved the sale of up to P21 billion in long-term, fixed-rate corporate bonds through a general public offering. It will be the largest fundraising of ALI thus far, eclipsing the P15 billion it secured from a retail bond offering in April last year. ALI hired BPI Capital Corp., BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Banking Corp., ING Bank N.V. Manila branch and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners while First Metro Investment Read More …

Jul 082013
 
Lawyer of Serendra blast victim to Ayala Land: Pay family for damages

The lawyer of Angelito San Juan, the tenant who was injured in the May 31 explosion of a condominium unit at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) who later died without giving a statement, said the family is planning on suing Ayala Land Inc. for damages. In a “24 Oras” report on Monday, San Juan’s attorney Raymund Fortun said that although Ayala Land has paid for San Juan’s hospitalization and burial, it has not yet coordinated with the family to settle damages. “A civil suit for damages, actual, moral and exemplary damages has to be imposed. We’re always open to any form of settlement of these cases,” Fortun said. “Kailangan lang namin maging reasonable sila at maging sincere ang kanilang desire to try to alleviate ‘yung suffering of parties involved,” he added. He said the family deserves compensation for any financial loss they could face following the death of San Juan, who succumbed to burns all over his body. “Mayroon pang ilang taon na ‘yung tao ay magiging productive, na kikita pa o mapapakinabangan ng kanyang pamilya. Dahil dito sa hindi inaasahang pagkamatay, nawalan ang pamilya ng ganito,” Fortun said. “Certainly some form of compensation would be justified,” he added. Suzette Naval, Ayala Land’s corporation communications manager, told GMA News Online: “We’ve not had any information about the intention [of the family about compensation].” She said that Ayala LAnd has yet to issue a statement about the family’s plea. Meanwhile, Interior secretary Mar Roxas has assured the public that his department will Read More …

Jun 102013
 

MANILA (Mabuhay) – Ayala Land Inc. has insisted Serendra’s centralized liquefied petroleum gas pipeline is safe. Ayala Land President Tony Aquino said the gas system is currently being used by many establishments in the country and abroad without any untoward incidents. He made the statement as investigators are currently looking at gas leak as the […]

Apr 302013
 
Phl bourse sustains rally on strong corporate earnings

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The local index climbed to the upper band of the 7,000-mark today as investors started buying stocks with promising corporate earnings. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.61 percent, or 42.64 points, to 7,070.99, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.41 percent, or 17.85 points, to 4,409.73. Trading volume reached 4.1 billion shares worth P10.83 billion ($263.35 million) with 91 stocks advancing, 82 declining, and 39 were unchanged. Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sector bucked the trend. “The composite index advanced for the fourth consecutive session, driven by strong corporate earnings,” DBP-Daiwa Securities, Inc. said in its daily stock market comment. 2TradeAsia.com said sessions will continue to “stay light” until new developments in China unfold. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “For now, local equities may track developments abroad, especially if reaffirmed support for monetary stimulus measures is made,” the online brokerage said. The brokerage said financials and interest rate-sensitive sectors might take the lead, as well as second and third tier stocks that have breached oversold levels.   Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were Ayala Land, Inc., heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and SM Investments Corp.

Feb 262013
 
Stocks sink as investors worry over Italian vote

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua)- Profit takers pulled down the Philippine stock market today. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.35 percent or 90.66 points to 6,630.67. The broader all-share index retreated by 0.77 percent or 32.07 points to 4,144.87. Trading volume reached 2.03 billion shares worth P10.49 billion ($257.83 billion) with 111 stocks declining, 55 advancing, and 43 unchanged. All six counters closed in the negative. Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said investors took note of the 216-point drop of the Dow Jones industrial average index to start booking their gains. “It was a day filled with a menu of negative news from Europe,” Calaycay said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Among the negative developments cited by the analyst was the latest election in Italy. Investors are worried over projections in Italy that showed no political coalition is strong enough to form a government. This might lead to political deadlocks that could lead to another Euro-zone crisis. Italy is divided between those pushing for austerity measures as a means to restore the economy back to health and the populists, who oppose such measures. In the US, Calaycay said investors are growing apprehensive over the developments in Europe and ahead of a spate of economic data this week. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These issues were SM Investments Corp., Ayala Corp., and Ayala Land, Inc.